"We have to find somewhere else to be." Frank said, gathering up some supplies and meaningful items. "We can't stay here right now. We have to go."
"Who can we stay with?" Alice wondered out loud, holding one of Neville's favourite plush toys to her chest before putting it in a small bag.
Nobody said anything as the Longbottoms all continued to rush about, wands raised and things flying across the room to land in bags, trying to prepare for an indeterminable amount of time away from their home, and Sirius kept Neville and Harry entertained. Finally, Sirius had an idea.
"We could stay with Xenophilius and Pandora for a little while. Pandora has always opened her door for me when I needed it."
"But can they fit four extra – well, six extra if we count the boys – people in that little house of theirs?" Augusta asked. "Besides, they have little Luna now."
"Luna and the boys can bunk together if they need to, and they have two spare bedrooms in the basement." Sirius replied. "Three if Pandora moves her spell-making lab… stuff…"
"I've never been in their basement." Alice stated. "I always thought they just had a tiny house."
Sirius laughed. "Xenophilius and Pandora would never have such a tiny house. They'd need someplace to keep all their artifacts and such, right? Just don't touch anything you don't recognize, or it might read your mind or something."
Frank chuckled, levitating another one of Neville's many toys into a bag. "I love those two, I really do, but I honestly don't understand them very well."
"Yeah, me neither." Sirius admitted. "But Pandora has always been very sweet to me, and Xenophilius is just shy. I can Floo to their place now and talk to them if you want me to."
"I'll go with you," Frank stowed his wand away before turning to Alice and Augusta. "If you ladies are okay with that?"
"It's probably best if you both go." Alice said. "Better to explain things that way."
Augusta nodded in agreement. "We'll be fine here, Frank. You go ahead."
Frank leaned in and gave Alice a kiss on the head. "We will be back soon, dear."
"Pandora?" Sirius called out, stepping out of the fireplace into their living room and brushing himself off as Frank stepped out behind him. "Xenophilius?"
"Sirius!" Pandora replied, appearing around the corner from the kitchen. "How wonderful to see you, darling. Oh, and Frank, how nice of you to stop by!" A giggling sound came from the kitchen, and she looked back in before turning to make eye contact with Sirius. "I'll just be a moment, I'm trying to keep Luna out of –"
A small crashing sound came from the kitchen, and Pandora cringed. "Oh, dear…" She sighed in her sing-song voice before ducking back into the kitchen.
"Do you need help, Dora?" Sirius asked.
"Oh, no, darling, we're fine. We're fine, right sweetheart?" Luna's baby voice giggled at Pandora's words.
Sirius and Frank peeked into the kitchen to see little eight-month-old Luna sitting on the counter covered head to toe in chocolate pudding, and a similar mess on the floor next to an overturned bowl.
"Scourgify!" Pandora pointed her wand at both the floor and Luna, who giggled again and tried to grab at her mother's wand, who quickly stashed it away much to the girl's disappointment. "I swear, having a baby is more stressful than fighting in the war sometimes." Pandora said with an exasperated smile.
Frank chuckled. "Just wait until she's old enough to do accidental magic, Pandora."
"She's already doing it." Pandora sighed. "I know it's very rare at this age but she has definitely done some magic already."
Sirius raised his eyebrows. "She's going to be an extraordinary little witch, that Luna."
Pandora picked up Luna, balancing her on her hip. "Oh, I have no doubt about that. My sweet little Luna…" She turned to the men in front of her, completely uncaring that Luna was now chewing on the ends of her hair. "Now, to what do I owe the pleasure of your visit, gentlemen?"
"Um…" Sirius looked to Frank desperately, but Frank shook his head at the Marauder. This was not Frank's story to tell.
"We need a place to stay…" Sirius started.
Pandora looked from Sirius to Frank in concern, then back to Sirius. "What's wrong?" She asked.
Instead of answering, Sirius' eyes welled up with tears again, and he looked at the ground.
"James and Lily are gone." Frank responded instead, and Pandora's hand flew to her mouth in shock as he continued. "You-Know-Who killed them, but Harry is still here. Dumbledore tried to put him with Lily's sister but we took him instead. Death Eaters attacked our house and we need somewhere safe to be for a little while."
Pandora was silent, and so were the two men in front of her, Sirius still staring at the ground and Frank still making eye contact with Pandora. The only sound to be heard was Luna chewing on her mother's hair.
Finally, Pandora spoke. "Xeno is out right now, but he won't say no to helping our friends. You're going to have to tell us everything but get Alice and the boys here right now. And your mother, Frank, we can't leave her to herself."
Sirius looked up to find Pandora staring right at him. "I know what you're thinking, Sirius. None of this is your fault."
At this, the man broke. He collapsed on Pandora's couch and began sobbing into his hands.
Frank gestured towards the fireplace, indicating to Pandora that he was going back to the Manor. She nodded at him before sitting next to Sirius, Luna still in her arms. Instead of saying anything, she started rubbing Sirius' back in circles, intending to let him cry himself out.
However, little Luna decided that a crying person was not to be left to their own devices, and began trying to crawl into Sirius' lap instead.
Sirius smiled sadly and opened his arms for the girl, and she climbed right onto him, tugging at his hair and babbling at him in baby-talk.
He knew things would be okay eventually, but for now… things were way more difficult than he'd ever experienced.